Why pay $700 for an iPhone when....?

HAWK

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I did a bit of research on the phone because I had never heard of it before and wanted to know what the big fuss was about...it seems to have a nice feature set (especially for the cost), but there are some negative marks in comparison with the iPhone 5S, and since that is what Andrew Lima seems to be clamoring for so much, here's a few of them...

- Limited 4G LTE usage...apparently this phone can only connect to certain high speed networks in the UK (which would almost assuredly carry over the same in the states)...and it's apparently due to the antenna build in the device itself (after reading some of the complaint forums from Vodaphone). iPhone 5S has the capability to connect to any high speed network, and is only limited by the carrier itself in terms of what they allow connection to.

- Design cues...removable rear panel but no removable battery? What kind of sense does that make? iPhone has a better build quality all around and is a more solid structure with no (pointlessly) removable panels on the entire body.

- Bigger battery but similar battery performance? Seems weird...since they were trying to really stroke themselves over the better battery than even the most recent Galaxy S and Xperia devices. Apparently the One PlusOne had around the same real world usage numbers as the iPhone 5S and Galaxy S5.

- Camera is not as good...period. They say the autofocus is extremely lackluster and that the device is more comparable to the Moto X, which consistently scores lower than the iPhone 5 on all camera related functionality. When a review has to qualify the picture quality by saying "Hey, this is a good camera phone for $300.", doesn't bode well for people looking at real hardware competency. It also defines the fact that more MP's does not make a better camera...

- Lacking security features. I feel this doesn't need elaboration.

...I'm sure I could nit pick some more details out of it, but if you wanted some examples of what the iPhone 5 does better than this new device, there's a few for ya. Non-opinionated...taken straight from several unbiased reviews of the device.

The One PlusOne is cheap...it's also a very capable phone for the price...but in the end, I'd happily pay twice the amount to stick with an iPhone, even a generation old iPhone 5S...and it still all comes down to preference.

Well said.


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the_tech_eater

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I did a bit of research on the phone because I had never heard of it before and wanted to know what the big fuss was about...it seems to have a nice feature set (especially for the cost), but there are some negative marks in comparison with the iPhone 5S, and since that is what Andrew Lima seems to be clamoring for so much, here's a few of them...

- Limited 4G LTE usage...apparently this phone can only connect to certain high speed networks in the UK (which would almost assuredly carry over the same in the states)...and it's apparently due to the antenna build in the device itself (after reading some of the complaint forums from Vodaphone). iPhone 5S has the capability to connect to any high speed network, and is only limited by the carrier itself in terms of what they allow connection to.

- Design cues...removable rear panel but no removable battery? What kind of sense does that make? iPhone has a better build quality all around and is a more solid structure with no (pointlessly) removable panels on the entire body.

- Bigger battery but similar battery performance? Seems weird...since they were trying to really stroke themselves over the better battery than even the most recent Galaxy S and Xperia devices. Apparently the One PlusOne had around the same real world usage numbers as the iPhone 5S and Galaxy S5.

- Camera is not as good...period. They say the autofocus is extremely lackluster and that the device is more comparable to the Moto X, which consistently scores lower than the iPhone 5 on all camera related functionality. When a review has to qualify the picture quality by saying "Hey, this is a good camera phone for $300.", doesn't bode well for people looking at real hardware competency. It also defines the fact that more MP's does not make a better camera...

- Lacking security features. I feel this doesn't need elaboration.

...I'm sure I could nit pick some more details out of it, but if you wanted some examples of what the iPhone 5 does better than this new device, there's a few for ya. Non-opinionated...taken straight from several unbiased reviews of the device.

The One PlusOne is cheap...it's also a very capable phone for the price...but in the end, I'd happily pay twice the amount to stick with an iPhone, even a generation old iPhone 5S...and it still all comes down to preference.

Bu but Nokia said that more MP means a better camera...
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anon(4698833)

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The Lumia 1520 has more megapixels than my Canon 5D...must be a better camera, LOL!

Playing to the common consumer who is wow'ed by superficial numbers. I always get a chuckle out of people's inexplicable attention to megapixels...and it's starting to filter into the world of processors and stuff now too, where people automatically assume that more cores equals a better/faster processor vs. less.
 

BreakingKayfabe

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The Lumia 1520 has more megapixels than my Canon 5D...must be a better camera, LOL!

Playing to the common consumer who is wow'ed by superficial numbers. I always get a chuckle out of people's inexplicable attention to megapixels...and it's starting to filter into the world of processors and stuff now too, where people automatically assume that more cores equals a better/faster processor vs. less.
The pictures I get with my 5S still amaze me. For a smartphone camera it is just really good and it further pushes the argument that good hardware alone doesn't make a smartphone camera good. It's how the software and hardware work together to produce the images they do.
 

the_tech_eater

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The Lumia 1520 has more megapixels than my Canon 5D...must be a better camera, LOL!

Playing to the common consumer who is wow'ed by superficial numbers. I always get a chuckle out of people's inexplicable attention to megapixels...and it's starting to filter into the world of processors and stuff now too, where people automatically assume that more cores equals a better/faster processor vs. less.

LOLZ yeah I hear ya. I was being sarcastic in case you thought I wasn't this whole thing about numbers is really getting on my nerves. Heck, lets all drive 600+ HP semi trucks around!
 

HAWK

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Lenses, shutter speed, flash all play a majority of the role in clean pictures... Mega pixels is huge when you are blowing a picture up to massive sizes.


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anon(4698833)

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The thing is, I guarantee my 24MP DSLR will take a better picture, even blown up to WALL size than any camera phone on the planet, regardless of MP specs. One of the Nokia's claims 41MP...I bet I could get a better quality picture at any resolution with most medium grade point and shoots on the market.
 

Speedygi

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One thing I would like to say about the OnePlus One is that the LCD screen isn't as vibrant as the LCD screens on the Nexus 5 or, for that matter, the iPhone 5s. One could see how the screen has compromise written over it to match the price.
 

Flow39

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One thing I would like to say about the OnePlus One is that the LCD screen isn't as vibrant as the LCD screens on the Nexus 5 or, for that matter, the iPhone 5s. One could see how the screen has compromise written over it to match the price.

Another thing that has probably already been said is that you get what you pay for. You want to pay $350 instead of $700? Okay, you will get to deal with all those thing SeanHRCC talked about. Limited 4g, removable rear but not battery, bigger battery but same performance as the 5s, camera, and the lack of security features. With the 5s, you don't have to face these issues, but you pay the price for that. You get what you pay for :)
 

qbnkelt

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About the camera debate.....

My Lumia 1520 Is taking some fantastic shots.

So does my 5s.

Just because I love my iPhone I won't deny that my Lumia is also taking some great pics.
 

the_tech_eater

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About the camera debate.....

My Lumia 1520 Is taking some fantastic shots.

So does my 5s.

Just because I love my iPhone I won't deny that my Lumia is also taking some great pics.

Of course the Lumia line does take great photos, but it's erroneous for a company that SHOULD know better, to lie and say that more MP automatically means better pics.
 

Flow39

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I know a lot of HTC One (M8) owners that dont consider that a lie.

For sure. The 4 mp camera on that isn't very good, and in this case, megapixels do matter. However, as you probably know, there is much more than MP count that goes in to making a great camera :)
 

Speedygi

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Another thing that has probably already been said is that you get what you pay for. You want to pay $350 instead of $700? Okay, you will get to deal with all those thing SeanHRCC talked about. Limited 4g, removable rear but not battery, bigger battery but same performance as the 5s, camera, and the lack of security features. With the 5s, you don't have to face these issues, but you pay the price for that. You get what you pay for :)
That's not fully true, you pay at cost for the OnePlus One anyways. Whereas you pay far above cost for the iPhone. The pricing strategy is vastly different.
 

reeneebob

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I've been spending the day pouring over information about the OnePlus One android phone. It's going to launch with cutting edge hardware specs, quality build materials, and a respected version of android free of carrier and OEM bloatware -Cyanogen - and get updates directly. It's already being called significantly better than Google's nexus phones by reviewers who have it so far, and will cost less.

So here's the question. Aside from OS preference or whether you're already invested in android or iOS apps, what incentive is there to buy a $700 iphone , or android for that matter, when they're making this available contract free and unlocked for less than half the price?

I owned the OnePlus One for a week. Really good phone. Sold it and went back to my iPhone 5S.

It's simply too big and the support if there are issues isn't there.
 

reeneebob

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I did a bit of research on the phone because I had never heard of it before and wanted to know what the big fuss was about...it seems to have a nice feature set (especially for the cost), but there are some negative marks in comparison with the iPhone 5S, and since that is what Andrew Lima seems to be clamoring for so much, here's a few of them...

- Limited 4G LTE usage...apparently this phone can only connect to certain high speed networks in the UK (which would almost assuredly carry over the same in the states)...and it's apparently due to the antenna build in the device itself (after reading some of the complaint forums from Vodaphone). iPhone 5S has the capability to connect to any high speed network, and is only limited by the carrier itself in terms of what they allow connection to.

- Design cues...removable rear panel but no removable battery? What kind of sense does that make? iPhone has a better build quality all around and is a more solid structure with no (pointlessly) removable panels on the entire body.

- Bigger battery but similar battery performance? Seems weird...since they were trying to really stroke themselves over the better battery than even the most recent Galaxy S and Xperia devices. Apparently the One PlusOne had around the same real world usage numbers as the iPhone 5S and Galaxy S5.

- Camera is not as good...period. They say the autofocus is extremely lackluster and that the device is more comparable to the Moto X, which consistently scores lower than the iPhone 5 on all camera related functionality. When a review has to qualify the picture quality by saying "Hey, this is a good camera phone for $300.", doesn't bode well for people looking at real hardware competency. It also defines the fact that more MP's does not make a better camera...

- Lacking security features. I feel this doesn't need elaboration.

...I'm sure I could nit pick some more details out of it, but if you wanted some examples of what the iPhone 5 does better than this new device, there's a few for ya. Non-opinionated...taken straight from several unbiased reviews of the device.

The One PlusOne is cheap...it's also a very capable phone for the price...but in the end, I'd happily pay twice the amount to stick with an iPhone, even a generation old iPhone 5S...and it still all comes down to preference.

If I may, since I owned one...

- had no issues with full LTE on Bell in Canada. Didn't even need to enter apn settings into the OPO

- OPO is selling custom back covers. The phone is every bit as solid as the iPhone 5 S. It's damn hard to get that back cover off. I was planning on getting the bamboo style cover had I kept the phone.

- I got double the battery performance out of the OPO. I could go 3 days with mid to heavy use and no battery saving on.

- I didn't get to mess too much with the camera but any pictures I took were fine. I had no complaints.

Now it was a huge phone which is why I sold it (that and I missed the sharing of information with my iPhone and my iPad Air) , and I knew I would be getting the iPhone 6, but thought I'd throw my hat in with my day in day out experience with the phone...something many haven't had.
 
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Ledsteplin

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I know Samsung is more concerned with all the phones coming out of China than they are with the iPhone. The iPhone will have it's market share regardless. But Samsung stands to lose ground against the Chinese makers. And there's a lot of them.
 

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